with an agent but found my own buyer....

tabskitten

I have a 2 bed flat on the market with an estate agent, however a friend of mine has expressed an interest to buy it.

Just wondered if there is a way i can sell to her without going through the agent as then i can give it to her at a lesser price which I would have saved in agents fees........?

Just wonderin really, or do i have to go through the agent now that I have a 12 week exclusivity agreement with them?

Also if i can do it without them i have no idea where to start- first time seller!!

Thank you for reading:)

Archlever

Hi,

If you want to sell now, you will have to pay the estate agent their fee. The contract you signed is legally binding and even if you found a buyer you would need to pay them. The only exceptions that our estate agent said were allowed were specific named people (i.e. family or close friends) who would need to be named on the contract when it was signed.

Also, I think at the end of the 12 week period unless you take it off the market you would still need to pay them the fee. Happy to be corrected by others if my understanding is faulty.

All the best.

tabskitten

Thanks, to be honest i am not really bothered as was prepared to pay them a fee just wanted to make sure that I am giving my friend the best deal and obviously would have rather knocked a few rand off the price to her rather than pay the agent......

Thank you for the reply- i just wanted to check:)

princeofpounds

Archlever is wrong. It depends totally on the contract you have signed. Why don't you read it (might be a good idea!) and see what it says.

Normally you will have to pay if you have an exclusive deal and you find a buyer within that period. However, there is nothing to stop you terminating your contract as outlined in the contract itself and then moving forward with your own buyer, as long as your buyer has not been involved with the estate agent in any material way.

When you terminate the contract, ask the agent for a list of people they consider they have introduced to the property so that you have a definitive account of which buyers might incur an invoice! You own buyer should fall outside this and you can proceed.

This assumes you haven't agreed to anything stupid and unusual in your contract.

Archlever

...but what's to stop the Estate Agent saying (sometimes justifiably) that it was their advertising the property on rightmove / other websites that in some way led to the sale. This may make the who they introduced to the property rather complicated. Or for that matter, I was passing by, saw the for sale sign, popped in for a chat and presto off with the estate agent.

I would be interested to hear what everyone thinks.

princeofpounds

...but what's to stop the Estate Agent saying (sometimes justifiably) that it was their advertising the property on rightmove / other websites that in some way led to the sale.

Nothing is to stop them saying it, but they would need to be able to prove to a civil standard (on the balance of probabilities) that they introduced the buyer to the sale (NOT just to the property) in order to make a successful claim.

The courts have recently raised the standard of what counts as 'introduction', so the agent has to have actually have done some work in order for it to count. Given the new buyer presumably has had nothing at all to do with the estate agent there is no way they are going to claim successfully, although they might try it on.

The case I refer to is the foxtons one referenced in this article, although there are a number of court decisions that would have a bearing.

http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=987&title=Ombudsman's_advice_on_fees_%E2%80%93_IMPORTANT_UPDATE&type=news_features

Archlever

Thanks Prince, that is useful info. Does it still mean that tabskitten needs to cancel her contract with her Estate agent before proceeding?

princeofpounds

Thanks Prince, that is useful info. Does it still mean that tabskitten needs to cancel her contract with her Estate agent before proceeding?

Again, depends on the contract, but probably yes as it's likely that any sale secured during the marketing contract incurs a fee payable to them. So the OP cannot technically agree a sale, there will always be an element of risk if the new buyer backs out.

DKLS

I had similar, I found my buyer in the local Coop.
When they viewed the house I asked them if they had any contact with the EA, they said they hadn't and based on this negotiated with the buyers to knock off the equivalent of the EA fee.

I cancelled the contract with the EA, and the sale went through a day after the contract expired.
The EA did try it on and phoned me a few months after enquiring about their fee, I advised them as I had found my buyer, I had bought myself a new watch as my fee and never heard a thing afterwards.

G_M

READ THE CONTRACT!

Usually:
Sole Agency Agreement - no fees payable on a private sale not introduced by the EA. Fees payable on any sale introduced by ANY agency
Sole Selling Agreement - fees payable on ANY sale
Multi Agency agreement - fees only payable on sales introduced by THAT agency

Estate_Agent

The other option if you are at all worried about the EA is one of patience.

Wait until week ten, give two weeks notice in writing and then proceed with your sale.